No description available.

Recent research has focused more on the needs and usage of accounting information in favor of its investors. Hence, there has been less attention towards creditors’ information needs. Additionally, it has been criticized that accounting information has lost its relevance to its users (Francis & Schipper 1999; Hail 2013). As Allen and Cote (2005) stated, it is hard to make any improvements to financial reporting if creditors’ decision making behavior is not well investigated. Thus, the aim of this research is to narrow the gap between studies concerning the information needs and usefulness of accounting information among creditors and investors. In addition, the companies in Sweden are financing their operation by issuing debt rather than equity, which increases the importance to consider creditors’ information needs, and how useful accounting information is to them (Billings & Morton 2002; Ewing & Bhatia 2012). The data was collected through questionnaire surveys which were sent out to the branch managers of the biggest commercial banks in Sweden. The questionnaire was mainly based on questions that used five point likert-scale. Additionally, a few open questions were included. Overall, the results of this thesis indicate the consistency with recent research. The importance of accounting information is significant, and practically all three main statements; balance sheet, income statement and cash flow statement, can be regarded to be complementary. An obvious difference is in the usage of financial statements compared to other information sources, as respondents claim to use accounting information nearly all the time when other sources were significantly less used.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Texas at Dallas, 2008. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 81-84)

Managerial work has been described as fragmented, action-oriented, and highly interpersonal, leaving limited room for formal planning and analysis. Even so, managers are expected to engage with accounting information for planning and analysing their area of responsibility. Accounting information has, however, been found to be tardy, aggregated, and incomplete, leading managers to rely on a wide set of additional informational resources. Still, managers’ doings and concerns tend to remain largely in the background in much management accounting research, which leaves us with limited knowledge of how accounting information comes into play in managers’ work. Moreover, technologies aimed at accommodating managers’ information needs are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and allow for timelier and more precise accounting information. This gradual transformation of technologies has led to questions concerning how management accounting is practised, and how it is related to accounting information systems. The aim of this dissertation is to identify roles of accounting information in managerial work in order to better understand the link between managerial work and management accounting systems. The dissertation consists of two volumes, each with three papers and a summary appraisal. The empirical material consists of interviews with a cross-sectional sample of mainly first-line managers, and a study of a construction firm including interviews with higher- and lower-level managers, observations of workshops where higher-level managers and staff discuss the management accounting systems, and internal documents. Overall, this dissertation suggests four roles of accounting information, based on its capacity to serve as representation, translation, key and perspective. Essentially, these roles reflect the ability of accounting information to both aggregate and disaggregate “reality”. The potential of each of these roles is shaped by managerial, organisational and technological issues, and is not always easily realised. The potential of these roles is particularly challenged in an environment with many local contexts. By accentuating what makes accounting information more and less valuable vis-à-vis other informational resources, this dissertation adds clarity to the emerging body of literature on managers’ situated use of accounting information, and to the debate on information technologies and management accounting.

A relevância da informação contábil está na capacidade de uma informação fazer a diferença na tomada de decisão dos usuários da contabilidade, em razão da alteração de suas expectativas quanto ao desempenho das entidades. Os investidores e credores tomam suas decisões fundamentadas na contabilidade com um objetivo em comum: o provimento de capital. Nesse contexto, as decisões desses usuários são a negociação de ativos ou ações das empresas pelos investidores, refletida nos movimentos do preço das ações, e a concessão de crédito às empresas pelos credores, refletida no financiamento obtido pelas empresas tomadoras de crédito. Os mecanismos de proteção adotados por esses usuários (BURKART; GROMB; PANUZI AL, 1997; STRAHAN, 1999; BEBCHUK; KRAAKMAN; TRIANTIS, 2000; NIKOLAEV, 2010; ARMSTRONG; GUAY; WEBER, 2010) e suas diferentes necessidades informacionais (HEALY; PAPELU, 2001; BALL; ROBIN; SADKA, 2008; PEEK; CUIJPERS; BUIJINK, 2010), assim como a função intrínseca dos modelos de VR (value relevance) e CR (credit relevance) trouxe a premissa de que as informações contábeis utilizadas por esses dois agentes econômicos são diferentes em suas decisões de provimento de capital. Os dados contábeis relevantes são em grande parte evidenciados para os investidores nos estudos de VR (DEVALLE; ONALLI; MAGARINI, 2010; CLARKSON et al., 2011; TSALAVOUTAS; DIONYSIOU, 2014; BARTH et al, 2014; CLOULT; FALTA; WILLETT, 2016). No entanto, há poucas evidências a respeito da relevância contábil para os credores (HOLTHAUSEN; WATTS, 2001; FLOROU; KOSI, 2015), sendo que o mercado de crédito corresponde a uma fonte de recursos substancial para as empresas (BEIRUTH, 2015; BEIRUTH et al., 2017). Os estudos de CR (HANN; LU; SUBRAMANYAM, 2007; KOSI; POPE; FLOROU, 2010; WU; ZHANG, 2014) atestaram que as informações contábeis úteis para a estimativa do risco de crédito são relevantes para os credores e impactam a decisão dos analistas de agências de classificação de risco. Assim, a partir da premissa subjacente de que as informações contábeis para credores e investidores são diferentes, o objetivo geral da pesquisa foi verificar se as informações contábeis relevantes são diferentes para os credores e para os investidores em suas decisões de provimento de capital. Os objetivos específicos foram identificar se as informações contábeis são menos relevantes para os credores por empréstimos na condição de maior risco informacional (menor enforcement) e se são mais relevantes nas situações de maior risco de crédito (maior alavancagem e baixa classificação dos ratings de crédito). A análise contemplou as empresas de 25 países no período de 2010 a 2015, com a aplicação do modelo de VR e do modelo proposto para o credor por empréstimo (VCR). Os resultados indicaram que todas as informações foram relevantes para os investidores, porém nem todas foram relevantes para os credores. Esta evidência significa que os modelos de decisão desses dois grupos de usuários são diferentes entre si. Na decisão do credor para o provimento de capital, as informações contábeis foram menos relevantes na condição de risco informacional, enquanto, nas condições de maior risco de crédito, essas informações foram mais relevantes. / The relevance of accounting information lies in the ability of information affecting the decision-making of accounting users, due to the change of their expectations for the performance of entities. Investors and creditors make their decisions based on accounting with one common goal: the provision of capital. In this context, decisions of these users are the trading of companies\' assets or shares by investors, reflected in the stock price movements, and the granting of credit to the companies by creditors, reflected in the financing obtained by borrowers. Protection mechanisms adopted by these users (BURKART; GROMB; PANUZI AL, 1997; STRAHAN, 1999; BEBCHUK; KRAAKMAN; TRIANTIS, 2000; NIKOLAEV, 2010; ARMSTRONG; GUAY; WEBER, 2010) and their differing informational requirements (HEALY; PAPELU, 2001; BALL; ROBIN; SADKA, 2008; PEEK; CUIJPERS; BUIJINK, 2010), as well as the intrinsic function of VR models (value relevance) and CR models (credit relevance) brought the premise that accounting information used by these two economic agents are different in their decisions of capital provision. The relevant accounting data are largely highlighted for investors in the studies of VR (DEVALLE; ONALLI; MAGARINI, 2010; CLARKSON ET AL, 2011; TSALAVOUTAS; DIONYSIOU, 2014; BARTH et al., 2014; CLOULT; WILLETT, 2016). However, there is little evidence regarding accounting relevance for creditors (HOLTHAUSEN; WATTS, 2001; FLOROU; KOSI, 2015), since the credit market corresponds to a source of substantial resources for businesses (BEIRUTH, 2015; BEIRUTH et al., 2017). CR studies (HANN; LU; SUBRAMANYAM, 2007; KOSI; POPE; FLOROU, 2010; WU; ZHANG, 2014) attested that useful accounting information for the estimation of credit risk are relevant for creditors and impact the decision of the analysts of credit rating agencies. So, from the underlying premise that accounting information to creditors and investors are different, the general objective of this research was to verify if relevant accounting information is different for creditors and investors in their provision of capital decisions. The specific objectives were to identify whether accounting information are less relevant for creditors by loans in higher-risk informational condition (lowest enforcement) and if they are more relevant in situations of higher credit risk (greater leverage and low ranking of credit ratings). The analysis included companies from 25 countries in the period from 2010 to 2015, with the application of the VR model and of the proposed model to the creditor by loan (VCR). The results indicated that all information were relevant for investors, although not all were relevant for creditors. This evidence means that the decision models for these two groups are different from each other. In the creditor\'s decision of credit granting, accounting information were less relevant under informational risk condition, while under higher credit risk this information were more relevant.

This dissertation consists of three stand-alone essays on fundamental uncertainty, stock return volatility and earnings management. The first study investigates the role of information about firms?? fundamentals contained in analysts?? forecasts (which I label ??non-accounting information??) in understanding stock return volatility. When combined with Ohlson??s (1995) linear information dynamics, the accounting version of the Campbell-Shiller model (Campbell and Shiller 1988a, 1988b; Vuolteenaho 2002) implies that if current non-accounting information is more uncertain, then future stock returns are expected to be more volatile. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical predictions, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. Additional analysis yields some evidence that both favourable and unfavourable news from non-accounting information increases future stock return volatility. Overall, the results highlight the value relevance of information in analysts?? forecasts beyond what is contained in the current financial statements. The second essay extends the theoretical framework of Callen and Segal (2004) and Vuolteenaho (2002) to investigate the association between the uncertainty of accrual information and stock return volatility. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical prediction that the extent of uncertainty in accounting accruals is increasing with the volatility of future stock returns, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. However, when accrual variability is decomposed into fundamental and unexpected portions, I find that the positive relationship between accrual variability and future stock return volatility is dominated by the fundamental component of accrual variability. The findings therefore suggest that the market places little weight on information conveyed by that component of accounting accruals that is most likely to reflect accounting choices, implementation decisions and managerial opportunism. The final essay argues that the presumed articulation among accruals, cash flows and revenues does not capture decisions on expected accruals when large external financing activities are present. The analysis provides evidence that managers?? ??normal?? operating decisions associated with net external financing activities are likely to lead to measurement errors in unexpected accruals that are part of expected accruals, and erroneous conclusions that significant earnings management exists when in fact there is none. This is especially pertinent in cases where the partitioning variable used to identify instances of earnings management is supposed to be uncorrelated with external financing, when in fact it is correlated. The results underscore the importance of additional specification tests being conducted to control for estimation biases in unexpected accruals associated with external financing. I suggest the use of matched-firm approach using industry and external financing matches in order that reliable and warranted inferences are made.

This study investigates the effect of locus of control on the relationships among product innovation, management accounting system (MAS), and organizational performance. 300 participants were randomly drowned from the electronic industries¡¦ managers in Taiwan Security Exchange and 132 useful responses were used to validate the hypotheses by path analysis. The results shows that: 1. Product innovation and organizational performance have a significant positive relationship 2. Product innovation and perceived usefulness of MAS information have a significant positive relationship 3. Perceived usefulness of MAS information and organizational performance are positively correlated 4. Product innovation has an indirect effect on organizational performance through perceived usefulness of MAS information 5. When managers tend to be internal locus of control, the linkage between product innovation and perceived usefulness of MAS information will be stronger 6.When managers tend to be internal locus of control, the linkage between perceived usefulness of MAS information and organizational performance will be stronger. However, when manager tend to be external locus of control, the hypothesis between perceived usefulness of MAS information and organizational performance is not supported. Management implications of this study are suggested. Businesses facing the global competition have to adopt the strategies of product innovation to create profits, promote market shares and improve strength of competition and then achieve organizational performance. Business using higher degree of MAS information will improve their adopting strategy of product innovation and enhance their organizational performance. Managers with internal locus of control will aggressively use MAS information and improve the linkage between product innovation and organizational performance effectively.

Abstract In the wake of diversification and rapid changes in market needs, corporations have to deal with ever increasingly strict demands imposed by both customers and competitors that concern prompt supply, complicatedness in manufacturing technology, life cycle of product, and competition from within the industry. To be able to respond without any delay, consolidate their organization, and take control of operation so as to gain the ultimate advantage in competition, local small businesses must have access to a complete set of managerial accounting information that can constantly reflect the operation of each process and the correctness of information, provide strategic basis for decision making, and provide a mechanism for forecasts and advance warnings. However, selecting a set of electronic tool software that is suitable to a business is more important than anything else in gaining advantage in competition. For the present, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is considered the most viable software that can integrate the internal processes of a business to effect business reengineering and connect with suppliers and consumers to achieve electronic information flow for the system. ERP is an integrative system that has been widely implemented in recent years. It has an outstanding purpose: to help plan and manage enterprise resources in an all-inclusive and integrative manner so that the business can achieve high operating efficiency and immediate improvement, reconstruct its strategic advantages, and reorganize and restart itself. It deserves our investigation whether managerial accounting information can, through the effective application of ERP system, provide corporations with prompt evaluations and make decisions for them and bring about tangible benefits in management. Therefore, this research has defined the major purposes that follow: 1. Pertinent information obtained by local small businesses when they initiate ERP can be subsequently used as the basis for evaluations when others initiate local small businesses. 2. Local small businesses, in implementing ERP, find reasonable analysis or solutions for difficulties they encounter, which will enable other businesses in the future that initiate ERP to reduce possibility of making mistakes and costs by planning in advance and taking preventing measures. 3. Understand how ERP after being initiated by local small businesses help accounting personnel enhance their functions in making spreadsheets and carrying out accounting control, and elevate their analytical skill. 4. Understand that after being initiated into local small businesses, ERP can enable managerial accounting information to bring up effectiveness to users or managers. This research, using case corporations as the subjects of study, was designed to understand the impact of ERP after being initiated on the degree of application of managerial accounting information. As to research design, literature review provided theoretical foundation. Methodology of taking grounded theory, part of qualitative research, was taken to understand the actual meaning of background environment of these corporations. Based on the nature of facts, data were collected, summarized and analyzed through questionnaire survey an case depth interview, to find out how a case corporation is related with managerial accounting information before and after it initiates ERP and to discover the support and impact given by an enterprise after it obtains managerial accounting information. The aspects of such an impact can be used by this corporation to improve or adjust its operation and provide corporations that have not initiated ERP or decided to initiate ERP with self inspection and suggestions to shorten the time frame for initiating ERP, reduce wastes on resources, ensure the effectiveness of using managerial accounting information, gain access to more opportunities so as to ensure perennial existence and create competitive edge for the corporation.

The focus of this research is the disclosure of accounting information in interim reports. The main objective of the research is to assess disclosure of accounting information in interim reports of UK companies listed on the LSE and to investigate whether variations in interim disclosure can be explained by corporate attributes that differentiate companies. The secondary objective is to examine perceptions of investment analysts regarding the importance of information items disclosed in interim reports for investment decision-making. Employing a disclosure-index framework, a list of 113 information items that are and could be disclosed was compiled and a mail questionnaire forwarded to investment analysts to determine the importance of the items. A cross-sectional disclosure model was developed to examine the relationship between interim disclosure and companyspecific and corporate governance attributes. The primary findings show that (1) investment analysts perceive information disclosed in interim reports as important for their investment decision-making and that there exists agreement between what companies disclose and what investment analysts perceive as importance items of disclosure, and (2) there are variations in the extent of interim disclosure and that both company-specific and corporate governance variables help explain these variations. The findings indicate that the extent of interim disclosure is positively related to company size, listing status, external auditor involvement, acquisition transactions, payment of an interim dividend, techMARK listing, and substantial institutional investors. The results also show that interim disclosure is negatively related to liquidity ratio, CEO age and shareholding of audit committee members. This research contributes to the disclosure literature in a number of ways. First it examines variables previously associated with annual disclosures as possible explanatory factors of differences in interim disclosure. Second, it investigates the influence of corporate governance variables on interim disclosure, an area that has been neglected in previous studies. Furthermore, the research introduces two new variables (external auditor involvement and shareholding of audit committee members), which have not been examined in prior disclosure studies. These findings have implications for the development of interim reporting and for corporate governance policy formulation.

This dissertation consists of three stand-alone essays on fundamental uncertainty, stock return volatility and earnings management. The first study investigates the role of information about firms?? fundamentals contained in analysts?? forecasts (which I label ??non-accounting information??) in understanding stock return volatility. When combined with Ohlson??s (1995) linear information dynamics, the accounting version of the Campbell-Shiller model (Campbell and Shiller 1988a, 1988b; Vuolteenaho 2002) implies that if current non-accounting information is more uncertain, then future stock returns are expected to be more volatile. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical predictions, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. Additional analysis yields some evidence that both favourable and unfavourable news from non-accounting information increases future stock return volatility. Overall, the results highlight the value relevance of information in analysts?? forecasts beyond what is contained in the current financial statements. The second essay extends the theoretical framework of Callen and Segal (2004) and Vuolteenaho (2002) to investigate the association between the uncertainty of accrual information and stock return volatility. The empirical evidence supports the theoretical prediction that the extent of uncertainty in accounting accruals is increasing with the volatility of future stock returns, and the results are valid for measures of both systematic and idiosyncratic volatility. However, when accrual variability is decomposed into fundamental and unexpected portions, I find that the positive relationship between accrual variability and future stock return volatility is dominated by the fundamental component of accrual variability. The findings therefore suggest that the market places little weight on information conveyed by that component of accounting accruals that is most likely to reflect accounting choices, implementation decisions and managerial opportunism. The final essay argues that the presumed articulation among accruals, cash flows and revenues does not capture decisions on expected accruals when large external financing activities are present. The analysis provides evidence that managers?? ??normal?? operating decisions associated with net external financing activities are likely to lead to measurement errors in unexpected accruals that are part of expected accruals, and erroneous conclusions that significant earnings management exists when in fact there is none. This is especially pertinent in cases where the partitioning variable used to identify instances of earnings management is supposed to be uncorrelated with external financing, when in fact it is correlated. The results underscore the importance of additional specification tests being conducted to control for estimation biases in unexpected accruals associated with external financing. I suggest the use of matched-firm approach using industry and external financing matches in order that reliable and warranted inferences are made.